A Union of Souls
by Miss Elizabeth Eyre
Summary: This was a project for a class I'm taking currently. I was inspired by a prompt on tumblr. Harry and Ginny are married, and face problems in their marriage.


A Union of Souls

Twenty minutes. Twenty minutes until they started. She could hear the music down the hall, echoing off the many halls of the school. Fleur was frantically trying to help Ginny get ready, but she was numb by this point. She really just wanted it all to be over with. The whole thing had been nothing but a bother, and stressful. Ginny would be seeing table charts and napkins dancing in her head for weeks afterward.

Her mother was zipping Luna into her dress, and it didn't bother her a jot that Luna had taken so long to get ready. It really didn't matter if any of them were ready. She wished she had just done a damn elopement and been done with it; just them, Ron and Hermione obviously, and Luna. Two weeks in Edenborough sounded like heaven right now. While all the world around her it seemed to be speeding this way and that, Ginny felt like she was going to either fall over or be sick, she wasn't quite sure which. Maybe both. Maybe then her mother would take a few minutes to actually check on the mental state of her daughter, instead of focusing on Luna's hair, which was perfectly fine. Just as she felt she was about to scream, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw her father next to her, a warm smile on his face. He looked so assuring, understanding. Ginny could help but smile back, genuinely. He handed her a glass of something brown, which she took and heartily downed in one gulp.

"You looked like you needed it."

"Thanks Dad."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and the in that one movement, Ginny felt more steady that she had in weeks. For days, as the wedding grew closer she felt like she was going to blow away with the rush of getting ready, and last minute errands. Her mother had been unbearable. Ginny loved her, but by god she was insane when it came to this sort of thing. They had been arguing for months since the engagement was announced. Everything Ginny had wanted was wrong, the colors, the food, the dress even. Fleur told it had been the same thing, after she had confronted Molly in the hospital wing that night. Fleur suggested it was probably her way of saying she cared. It made sense, her mom always liked to plan a party.

"You know she loves you." Her dad said.

"Yes, I know, but I wished she would just take a minute and enjoy everything."

"Oh she will, when it's all over."

Ginny laughed. It was getting close to being time. Molly was getting everyone into position, in front of the Great Hall doors. Of all the places they had wanted to go, this was the one that had been at the top of her and Harry's list. It was home for them most of their lives, and it was where it all started for them. Her mother had of course been a little put off by it, being as it was also a sad place.

"Then what better way to make it a happy place, than a wedding." Harry had argued. Honestly if Ginny had wanted anything to go her way, all she had to do was bring Harry into the argument. He honestly never cared what they did, except he wanted to get married at Hogwarts, he wanted chocolate cake for their wedding cake, and it couldn't be on his birthday. Also he wanted to invite that cousin of his, which was fine.

Five minutes, how was it already five minutes? Ginny really wanted a refill on that drink. And there was George. "Hello sis, thought you might want a nip before we get start- whoa!" Ginny had snatched the glass from his hand and gulped it down. "Easy tiger, you want to remember the ceremony."

Their father gave her a comforting squeeze on her shoulder. "Your sister is a bit nervous is all." He let her go, and Ginny felt the pressure of both his grasp and the wedding, leave her. "You better get back out there your mother is on a mission."

"When I do this, I'm going to Brussels and getting it over with," George said dryly. "No offense to all of you, but I lack the patience you seem to have Gin." He quickly made his exit, as the music started to change. Was it time already?

"You ready sweetheart?" Her dad looked her square in the eyes, a serious look on his face.

"For the ceremony no, but for the rest…"Ginny looked down the hall, and saw the Great Hall doors open for all of the bridesmaids to start walking down the aisle. "I'm ready for _him_." Her father smiled.

"Then let's get to it."

They positioned themselves far off enough to give everyone else room and so that none of the guests could see her just yet. Her mother went last and then…

"Deep breathes Ginny."

Ginny breathed, deep and slow, and began to move forward; her nerves had come back. It was always something about being in large crowds of people that seemed to make her nervous. On the Quidditch pitch. She leaned on her father for dear life, as they entered the Great Hall. The aisle felt a million miles away. On either side was…well everyone. Her friends, her family, her teachers, teammates, everyone. She kept looking around, as if to look for something, and then she finally focused on the altar. And her nerves were gone, for good now.

Harry was beaming, dressed snazzy in dark brown muggle dress-robes. The aisle now didn't seem so long. In fact she was there in the next minute. Her father handed her over to Harry, with a kiss to her cheek and one last squeeze on her shoulder. Ginny hurried up the steps to the altar, as gracefully as she could without falling. Harry chuckled, holding out his hands.

"Nervous?"

"Horribly, you?"

"I was tempted to down a whole bottle of fire whisky." Ginny giggled.

"Ahem." The couple jumped, looking up at Professor McGonagall, stern-looking as ever. "Shall we begin, or do you to want to finish your little chat."

Ginny was tempted to say 'sorry, professor', like when she was little, but she managed to contain herself. Harry looked sheepishly back at Ginny.

"Very well, let us begin…"

The ceremony had been short and to the point, very much what Ginny had wanted. Honestly, the money people spent on something that only really takes twenty minutes to do, astounded Ginny. Harry had of course offered to pay for everything, which in a way made sense, but her parents had insisted. Honestly it had been the first time Ginny had ever really seen her father get heated with Harry.

The reception had almost immediately begun after their first kiss as man and wife and suddenly the Great Hall had transformed once more. The hall had small circular tables, each decorated with their colors for the day. The last time the Great Hall had looked so different, was the Yule Ball. That had been ages ago it felt like to Ginny. _"Almost a whole lifetime."_

Harry and Ginny, after an hour of being congratulated, had finally snuck out of their own reception, to stroll down the edge of the Black Lake. They could still hear the party going on from where they stood.

"Are you happy?" Ginny's head jerked up at the question. Where had this come from?

"Of course I am." The way he looked at her, was earnest, yet somewhat….frightened? Tense? However, when she confirmed what she was sure he wanted to hear (not that it was not true), his face lightened, and his smile was joyful again, like it had been at the altar.

She decided to echo his question. "Are you happy?" His smiled widened.

"Ecstatic." His grip on her hand tightened. She did not mind.

The apartment was about unpacked when Ron came to her door. She had been happy to see him until she saw his face. He always had that face when it involved Harry. They were now at St. Mungo's emergency ward, the same one where her father had been submitted to when she was fourteen. That had been one of the worst nights she could remember. That she could remember.

Ginny was trying to read an old _Witch Weekly,_ while Ron had finally fallen asleep in the seat next to her. The waiting room was almost empty now, but when they had arrived seven hours earlier, it had been packed with all manner of people with ailments. Ginny swore she had seen one man with a shoe lodged in his….well, suffice it say, it had made Ron and her laugh, which got them a good amount of dark looks. Who laughs in an emergency ward? Hermione would have joined the mob, but unfortunately, she had gotten stuck trying to figure out what had gone wrong. Ginny and Ron still didn't know what had happened. Why Ron had been contacted first, and not Ginny, Harry's _wife_ still escaped her. Ron didn't even work at the ministry, he was working with their brother and Weezes. The whole thing had frustrated her on the way over. Her complaints had echoed throughout the floo network. Ron had remained silent. Of course he was afraid, it was his friend after all, but Ginny had a right to grip more, after all, she was, again, _his wife._

Ginny had finally given up on the magazine, when a healer came out of the ward, his purple robes billowed out behind him. It was very dramatic.

"Mrs. Potter?" He called out. Ginny leapt from her seat with such as force, the chair hit the wall, startling her brother awake.

"Yes?" The healer regarded her for a moment, hesitating. _Too young_ she read in his expression. Ginny ignored it, squaring her shoulders out, daring him to saying anything other than what she needed to hear about her husband. "Is he alright?"

"He was hit with an _ jinx, very powerful." The healer began. Ron had approached the pair of them from behind Ginny, looking at the doctor over his sister's shoulder. "The force was so great it had apparently sent Mr. Potter through a brick wall."

Ginny gasped, covering her hands over her mouth. Ron let out a sigh of resignation. This was not the last time this would ever happen, would it?

"He has some broken bones and a concussion," the healer continued. "But other than that, no further damage. We will have to keep him over night, until his ribs regrow."

"Regrow!" Ginny let her hands drop to her sides. They were now clenched into fists. "What do you mean _regrow_?!"

The healer sighed, as if she should know, that she should understand why her husband was broken.

"Two of his ribs were shattered. We removed them easily, and we administered Skele-gro."

"Wait, why wasn't I told about this?" Ginny demanded. "Shouldn't have told me, or even let me come in the room with him?!"

"He gave us permission that was all we needed."

"All you needed!"

"Ginny, calm down— "Ron grabbed her shoulder. He might have meant to comforting, but it felt like he was holding her back.

"Don't touch me! All you needed, he should have sent for me!"

"Miss— "

"I'm his wife, where is he?!" Ginny pushed past the healer, heading for the doors, where he husband was. "I want to see him!"

"Ginny, he needs to heal."

"Oh he will need it, when I get my hands on him!"

They argued for five hours, before the healers escorted her out. Apparently they needed to get back to work, healing him. Ron took her home, using the bus. Hermione taught him how understand the bus route and how to pay. Flor some reasons, this ride calmed her more than the floo network. Her blood stopped boiling, and her fists unclenched.

"You feel better?"

"How did you know this would work?"

"Hermione likes to take the bus, to take her mind off of work." Ron said simply, folding his arms. "I was surprised she told me, after I had asked why she always took the bus."

"Well, it was a good idea, thank you." They sat in silence for a few minutes, before Ron broke the silence again.

"But really, are you alright?"

"No, I mean I won't jinx anyone now, but no I'm not."

"Well….do you want to talk about it, or stew?"

Ginny sighed. "I want my husband to act like a husband. He didn't call me, he called you-"

"That's not fair, the healers called me."

"Who do you think told them to do that?"

Ron pursed his mouth shut. "Well…."

"I swear if you are his emergency…"

"No, no, no hold on I can explain maybe? Hear me out." Ginny had crossed her arms, looking away. She set her gaze on an elderly lady, clutching her cane and giant hand bag. "When you and Harry were…." Ron trailed off. Ginny turned and gave him a dirty look, daring him to say something snide. "When you guys were…. apart, Harry set me and Mum as emergency contacts, in case of something happened. He had just started at the auror office, for real, and he almost got his head blown off by some git."

"When did that happen?!" Another near death experience. And he didn't tell her about it.

"It was while you were away, he told me not to tell you."

"What the hell is wrong him?!" People were looking at them now. Ron gave them a dirty look, as Ginny stormed. "Why can't he just talk to me?! And who does that?"

"Well, you didn't tell him about what happened back in Germany did you?"

"That was an ankle, and yes I did."

"No you told me, but I didn't tell him."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not your bloody owl, that's why." Ron crossed his arms. He was giving her that look, that big-brother I-know-everything look. "You two need to air out your laundry, or whatever the saying is. No more secrets, no more bloody lies."

"Who said I was lying?"

Ron gave her a serious look. "Who said he was honest?"

They were in different rooms of the apartment now. It had been two weeks before Harry had been released from Mungo's, and Ginny had gone to see him, and ripped him a new one each time. By the time he had been released, Ginny had tired herself out, and was now barely speaking to him. If he wanted to play the quiet game, then so could she. Harry had taken to sleeping in the living room, pouring over ministry papers. Ginny just left the apartment, every day, to practice out in the country. She apparated out in the middle of Essex, near an abandoned farm, to fly, and would chase the quaffle, and just…. forget all of this. What did Ron mean, about Harry and honesty? Had Harry lied about something? What, had he been injured more? Ginny tried to push the thought from her mind, concentrating on the quaffle. A nagging voice in her head kept telling her yes, but…. did he?

After an hour, Ginny decided to just fly around for a bit; she loved how the air blew around her. She always wondered if this was how birds felt. It had started to become dark, so she begrudgingly turned around, and landed near the decrepit barn. She was not alone.

"What are you doing here?" Harry had been sitting in the grass, playing with an old snitch she had pilfered from the field. "How long have you been waiting?"

"Not long, 'bout an hour." He clutched the snitch and pocketed it. "You were great out there."

"Yes, against full wind, and all those invisible players." Ginny gathered up her gear, and took off her robes and shoved them into her duffle bag. She probably shouldn't be, well, bitchy, but really? He hadn't said a word to her, an explanation, an apology, nothing, two weeks. He deserved it.

"Look, can we please talk," Harry got up from his spot on the ground. "Like, really talk."

"We're talking now." She was going to make this difficult. If she had to make him spell it out, she would. Her back was turned to him, pretending to be busy cleaning up her gear. Ginny felt Harry come up behind, but he didn't try to make her move.

"Please stop being angry at me." He said quietly. Ginny dropped her duffle and turned, sharply around, her hair wiping with her.

"Do you even know why I'm angry?!" He was startled by her sudden movement, but collected himself. "You lied to me, you didn't call me when you got hurt, you called my brother!"

"Okay…" He was confused. Ginny threw up her hands in frustration, leaned to grab her things, and began to stalk off. Harry made to grab her arm, and she almost swiped him, but he ducked. Ginny paused, the look in his eyes. Harry stared at her wide eyed, shocked.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out. "I…. I didn't…. that wasn't…." He approached her tentatively. "I didn't mean that." She wasn't sure why, but Ginny had the distinct feeling she had just done something horrible. Without realizing it though, he had come in for a hug. "I didn't mean to hurt you." She wasn't sure who had said that. All she could remember was the warmth.

That night they had said nothing….at all. Harry was now the distant one, and Ginny had no idea what to do. What had she done? Was it the attempted slap? It wasn't like she hadn't done that before. They were always play fighting…. well that was different she supposed. It was playful. But she actually wanted to hurt him. She didn't…. know where that had come from. Well she did, but…. she didn't? Ginny screwed up her face, and looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. It was blurred by the steam of the shower. Ginny grabbed a towel, her hair brush and went out of the bathroom, the steam following her out.

Harry was on the bed, looking intently at the Quibbler. He wasn't reading it, and he was gripping it rather tightly.

"What- "Ginny started, but her throat shut down almost, like something was taking her breath to speak. She cleared her throat, and Harry looked up. "What…. did I do wrong?"

Harry gave her a confused look. "What?"

"You've been…. distant ever since yesterday at the farm." Ginny sat on the bed, from a distance. Harry set down his Quibbler and gave her his attention. "What did I do? Was it…. the slap?"

Harry sighed shaking his head. "I…. reacted…. I didn't expect to react like that, I'm sorry." He didn't look at her when he said that.

"You don't have to be sorry, that's on me." Ginny reached across the bed, taking his hand. He turned to look at her, accepting the hand. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have tried to hit you, that's not who I am, what I should do when we argue, or at any time." Ginny squeezed the hand.

"I shouldn't have grabbed you, I know you hate that."

Ginny chuckled. "Well, that is true. But still," They trailed off. Ginny inched closer to Harry, still gripping his hand. "I was mad about you getting hurt. Why would you do something so stupid, jumping out like that?"

"Because I was the distraction, and Thompson had the better advantage."

"You can't put yourself in danger like that, you don't have to do that anymore." Harry sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Ron said this isn't the first time, that it happened a lot when I was…."

Away. They hated that word, the weight it carried.

"I had been injured a couple times, yeah," Harry blurted out. Ginny gave him a dirty look. "It didn't seem like something to bother you with, you going out into the world."

"That was then," Ginny said sharply. "this is now and you should have told me. What if it had been serious? I'm your wife."

"What about you?" Harry sounded indignant. "You broke your ankle, and I had to find out about it from Ron."

"And, you found out. Besides you didn't write to me, so how should I know you'd care?"

"I always cared."

"Well, you had a strange way of showing it. I thought you were bitter about my going."

"I…." Harry caught himself, considered his choice and said, "I was. Not that you were traveling or anything, you know being independent." Harry quickly added. "But that…you were gone, and not with….me."

"Well that is just stupid. You could have come, or just written. But you had to break it off, all macho like." Ginny had taken her hand back and crossed her arms.

"It wasn't…." Harry began, but Ginny glared. "I thought…. maybe you had reconsidered."

"Reconsidered." Ginny said, incredulous. "Reconsidered what?"

"Me." Ginny screwed up her face, frustrated. "Well…. I thought…."

"You thought, what, that I had decided that you weren't who I thought you were?"

"No, well, yes- "Harry sighed, getting off the bed. "I don't know."

"That's rather gittish thinking. I just wanted to a chance to go look at the world." Ginny got off the bed to, and walked over to Harry. "All my life, Bill and Charlie sent letters and packages from all of these exotic places, and I used to dream of going to those places," Harry regarded her as she said this. "I just wanted to have my own experience."

"Well, why didn't you say that?"

"I did you twit, you clearly translated that as something else."

"Clearly."

They were quiet for a moment. "You need to be honest with me," Ginny started. "You can't just shut up everything and let yourself get killed."

Harry nodded. "I know; I was a prat. I will…. let you know the next time I nearly get killed." They laughed.

"We need to forget about that time, no more bringing it up."

"Right."

A week later, Ginny was lying in bed, when the nightmare came back. It was nothing truly terrifying to unknowing, but to her it was the worst night. It was always the same. A pitch black room, Ginny is running, and she can hear him. All around, his voice echoes, and it is laughing at her.

This time though, he mocks her current problems.

" _You were always a nuisance to them. The stupid little girl, who was stupid enough to open me_."

Ginny is running, like when it happened. Every time his voice rang in her head, she ran, because she thought it would work, that she could outrun him. She used to be so fast…

" _Stupid littler girl, he only married you because he felt obliged,"_ the voice sneered. " _you are nothing to him, always have been nothing! You were damaged goods after I got my hands on you!"_

"Shut up!"

" _Hahahaha! You know that's not how this works_."

Ginny runs into something. The chambers entrance.

"No, no, no, no!" Ginny tries to run away from it, but something pulls her leg, and she lands on the ground. Ginny looks back, and sees the basilisk has grabbed her leg with its tongue.

Ginny wakes up. She screaming's, while Harry shakes her awake.

"Ginny, wake up, wake up its just a nightmare, it's just a nightmare." Ginny pry's his fingers off her shoulders, jumps from the bed, and runs into the bathroom. Harry is calling after her as she slams the door. Ginny begins to heave into the sink, as Harry is slamming his hand on the door. She can't deal with this right now.

She manages to croak out, "I'm fine, please just give me a moment." The slamming stops, but she knows he's still in front of the door, listening. She just needs to be alone right now. "Please, I just a need a minute Harry."

Same old Harry, trying to save everyone, whether they want him to or not. Ginny turned on the faucet and ran it until the water was ice cold. She splashed some water on her face, and then cupped her hand, to take a drink. Her mouth had been dry and her throat hurt from all of that screaming. She dried off her face and hands and with a final glance at the mirror, opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom. Harry had turned on the bedside lamp, so now the room was lit enough for Ginny to see the worried expression on his damn face. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, fidgeting. He stood from his spot, as Ginny walked up to the bed, slid under the covers, and made to turn off the light.

"Goodnight."

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute." He cut her hands progress off to the lamp switch. She tried her best confused look, but she knew this would not work. "You just woke up screaming bloody murder, care to explain that?"

"Not really." Ginny switched off the lamp and turned to try and go back to sleep.

"Ginny." Harry turned the lamp back on. "What happened?" Ginny sat up, annoyed.

"Harry I have practice tomorrow at 5:00 in the morning, and its 1:00, can we please drop it."

"Ginny, seriously, what about honesty?"

"Honesty about almost being murdered, not our bloody nightmares!" Ginny switched off the lamp, turned over and laid her head on her pillow. "I'm not staying up until dawn just to tell you all about my fucked up psyche, now please drop it."

Ginny felt him stare at her for several minutes, before he began to lay back down. He put his arm over her, and held her close. She was alright with that.

They never spoke about the nightmare. And it didn't come back after that. Ginny threw herself into Quidditch, day and night she would practice, and play with her team, with her brothers. The season was about ready to begin, and Ginny was ready. Harry and her were starting to mend things as well, and Harry hadn't had anymore incidents at work, which Ginny was glad about. And Harry was reconciling himself about the old Black house in London. Harry hadn't told her why he kept visiting the old place, but she was getting an idea about it. She wouldn't mind living there, she thought.

And then things went terribly wrong. It had been midseason, when Ginny got a face full of bludger, and landed in the middle of the pitch. She had been unconscious for two days. Harry, she was told, had never left her side. When she did wake up, she found that she had sustained a few injuries from the bludger as well as from falling nearly twenty feet from her broom. Someone, thankfully and most likely Hermione, had cast a charm to ensure that Ginny's descent to the ground had slowed down at least. Two broken ribs and a nasty concussion were all the Ginny had suffered. The mini-coma had of course been a worrisome thing, but as much as….

"You are pregnant." Ginny and Harry's mouths dropped.

"That was one hell of a fall." Ginny had blurted out, and Harry begun to laugh. The healer looked at them like they were insane, but went on his way.

The couple were silent for what felt like an hour. Harry clutched Ginny's hand, like she was going to fly away, and Ginny felt like she might be sick. Whether that was because of morning sickness or the concussion, she wasn't quite sure.

"So, what do we do now?" Harry began. That was a good question. This would be their first child, and they had no idea where to start. Finally, something hit Ginny.

"Oh God." Ginny said, her clasped over her mouth. Harry turned his head sharply to look at her, his expression worried.

"What?"

"My mother is going to kill me."

Harry sputtered. "What?"

"I was playing Quidditch and nearly got killed, she is going to kill me."

"When has that ever stopped us?"

Fair point.

They had decided that Ginny should probably not play Quidditch for a while, at least until the baby was born. Ginny broke the news to her team, who had to scramble to find a replacement before the final match. She had never felt so guilty, but what was she supposed to do, risk another accident and actually do something worse this time around. Harry had the more enjoyable task of telling her family and receiving the congratulations. Her mother was over the moon of course and insisted on throwing the shower and helping them get ready for the baby. Honestly, she had no problem with this, because Ginny had no clue what she was going to do. Fleur of course offered to help as well, being a mother now as well, but Ginny's mother was having none of that, so Fleur had decided to take a more, subtle role in Ginny's pregnancy.

"I know your mother means well," Fleur stated one day, over tea. "But she can very, what is the word…over-involved." Ginny giggled.

"Yes, she can be, was she like this with you?"

"She is like this with everyone," Fleur stated. "Though we are inexperienced, she seems to think that means we are hopeless."

Ginny sipped some of her tea. "So how did you put up with it?"

"Well, there is always my mother, whom she constantly got into fights with. But that may not help you. It is best, really, to let her think she is in charge, but really ignore her. She can't always be there, and it is after all your child, not hers."

"Well, that is easier said than done."

"Yes, I know. But she does love you, which is why she is so…. involved."

"A little too involved."

Fleur nodded and drank her tea.

The baby was born in August, a healthy little boy. Ginny hadn't had any ideas for names, but Harry had a whole list, which she just shot down.

"No, these names are terrible and awful, do you want out son to get beat up?"

"Then what do you have?"

"How about your damn father's name? Or my father? Anything but Albus."

"Alright James then, but what about his middle name? Sirius."

"That's fine with me. I can't believe you didn't think of this."

"The name was on there."

"Yeah, after Aberforth. Are you going to name all of our children after people from the Order, because I don't think I want that many?"

"Ha ha."

Ginny's mood soured after that. Every day was becoming a struggle to do anything. She didn't have a job, she hadn't been on a broom for over a year, and James wouldn't stop screaming. No matter what she did, he was always screaming, she couldn't take it anymore.

Harry was no help, he was at the ministry almost all hours, working. And when he did come home, he just slept. Her mother kept coming over, fussing over her child like it was hers and James would just quiet down the second she got there, and that was starting to get on Ginny's nerves. Not to mention her mother would point out how tired she looked.

"You really need more sleep, dear."

"I would if James wouldn't scream so much."

"Well, dear, he is a baby after all."

It was just this endless cycle, and all Ginny wanted to do was get off this turnpike. One night the nightmare came back, but luckily Harry wasn't here this time to play the hero. But she woke up James, which started her day an hour earlier than she wanted. Later that morning, Ginny dropped a pan on the floor, and it made a clattering sound which set James off again. Ginny started screaming back, throwing more things on the floor, breaking dishes and throwing pans, until Harry came home and saw the state that the kitchen was in. Harry had caught the last of their good dishes, grabbed James and took him out of the room without a word. Ginny slid to the floor sobbing.

When Harry had come back, she started in on him, arguing that he wasn't around, that Ginny wasn't getting the help she needed, that she needed him. And Harry just stood there, silently picking up the glass. It was all too much for her right now. Ginny ran up the stairs, slammed the door to their room and cried herself to sleep. Harry just cleaned the kitchen.

The fighting was getting worse, and Ginny felt she couldn't turn to anyone. Everyone loved Harry so damn much, she felt like she would be the ungrateful brat who couldn't get past her issues to make things better for him. The nightmares were getting worse, and even worse than that they were bringing up everything that was happening. James would get eaten by the basilisk, Harry would die from its poison, she would be torn apart by its teeth, all while Tom would watch. Tom. She always called him that name, never Voldemort. It was because he was different, she supposed; Tom hadn't fully transformed, in to the monster he died as, but he was always Tom. Tom was different. He had been charming, and understanding and sweet. He called said her name like she was the only Ginny he had known, and it didn't matter what her brothers had done. She had felt special. And then the blank periods started, and she would take up with blood on her hands, and covered in feathers. Her clothes would be wet and her face would be pale.

The same face she was looking at now. She had taken a shower, to try clear her head. James was at her parent's house. Her mum was starting to see the cracks in Ginny's armor and kindly said she would watch James for a few hours. Ginny appreciated it. She loved that boy, she really did. He reminded her of Fred a little, not in appearance, but in how he would smirk at you when he was happy. Maybe she was projecting. Everyone says you fall in love with them from the moment their born, and she did. She loves James, but why? Falling in love and loving something are two different things. Falling in love implies that there is something there that made you care, that made you want to be around them. But James was a blank slate. He has no character to fall in love with, he's just a baby.

But she loves him. Maybe that is what people mean, when they say you fall in love. You just love them, no matter what. Maybe that's why her nightmares are so terrifying now, whenever James shows up. He can't save himself, not like Harry could.

Harry was gone again, and Ginny was in the living room with James. He was starting to calm down now, he wasn't crying as much as he used to. He all giggles and gurgling. So why did Ginny still feel depressed? Why were the nightmares still coming to her, every night? Harry hadn't been at the house for some time now, so he wasn't around to see her crying. Actually he hadn't been around for a couple of days. How had she not noticed this?

Ginny looked at the clock. It was almost nine. Where was he? She wasn't even mad she was just worried. She was always worried. Ginny hadn't exactly been a pleasant person to be around lately. James now asleep in his cradle next to the couch, so Ginny took the wireless phone Harry had bought, and went into the kitchen. She remembered how to use the buttons, and looked at the number for Ron and Hermione's phone number. Ginny gingerly dialed the numbers, one button at a time with her index finger, and then held the phone up to her ear, like Harry had told her. The noise went on for a few minutes before Ron's voice shouted out at her through the ear piece. Ginny recoiled from the phone, and began shouting back.

"Tone it down Ron! You don't have to yell like that!" After two minute's worth of shouting from Ron's end, he finally toned his voice down to a reasonable level. "Have you seen Harry at all?"

"No, he's not with you?"

"I haven't seen him for three days."

"How is that possible?"

"I thought maybe I was missing him, he's always at work."

"Well, he hasn't been around here at all, let me ask Hermione." Ginny waited a few minutes until she heard Hermione's voice.

"He's at the Tonks'." She said simply. Ginny jerked her head.

"How do you know that?"

"He's been spending a lot of time there, are you two still fighting?"

Ginny sighed. "That's none of your business Hermione."

"Then why don't you go talk to him."

Ginny hung up the phone.

Ginny approached the Tonks residence the next day. She had dropped James off at her parent's again, with the promise of coming over for dinner. Right now, she needed to try and fix this. She knocked on the door, three raps, and waited.

Andromeda opened the door.

"You look like hell, girl." Straight to the point, Andromeda was.

"Is Harry here?"

"He's in the living room with Teddy. What took you so long?" She let Ginny pass her in the doorway, and shut the door.

"I didn't even realize he wasn't coming home. I'm either sleeping or watching James."

"Girl, you need to make sure he helps you," Andromeda led her to the kitchen's door and stopped her. "He is just as responsible as you are, he should be helping you."

"I haven't exactly been nice to him. Or anyone really."

"Well, that is between you to isn't it. But it doesn't seem right to leave your wife and child just because she hasn't been 'nice' to him." Andromeda shoved the door to the kitchen open, and Ginny went in. Harry was sitting at the counter, playing a game of exploding snap with Teddy. He looked up, as Teddy exclaimed victory. His expression was embarrassed.

"Teddy," Andromeda said, sternly. Teddy looked over at the two women. "Come say hi you your Godmother Ginny." Teddy got off the stool and ran over to Ginny, hugging her waist.

"Hi Ginny."

"Hey Teddy, can I borrow your Godfather a moment?"

"Sure, I just beat him anyway." Ginny laughed as Teddy ran out of the room. Andromeda gave Harry a look, and followed her grandson.

Ginny and Harry stared at each other in silence. Ginny had gone over to the counter, and sat in a stool across from Harry.

"Why haven't you come home?" Harry didn't answer her. "I needed you, and you weren't there."

"I…." Harry started, but his voice broke. "I don't know."

"That's all you have to say, I don't know. You must know something." Ginny was trying to keep her voice low, keep her tears back. Why does she keep crying?

"I…. don't- "

"That's not good enough Harry, why haven't you come home?" Harry won't look at her.

"Because…." He stops. Ginny stares at him. She won't let him off easy. She won't leave this place until he tells her wat she wants to hear. Whatever that is. "Because of your nightmares." Her face drops. "I heard you the other night, screaming. I heard you screaming my name, and James and then…. Tom."

Ginny recoils from that name. From all of this. She gets off the stool and grabs a glass from the dish rack, to get some water.

"Do you dream about him? About Voldemort?" His voice is so quiet; he could be whispering.

"They're not dreams, their nightmares." They are quiet for two minutes, Ginny fills the water glass, and takes her seat again on the stool, before she starts speaking. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because last time, you didn't want to talk about it." Ginny sighed. That was her mistake. "Do you want to talk about it now?" Ginny felt the tears come, big drops, down her cheeks, as she nodded. "How long have you had them?"

"Since…. always."

"That night?"

"Every night before, every night ever since."

"Does anyone else know?"

"Luna does, and maybe some of my dorm mates during Hogwarts. At least they knew I had nightmares." She took a sip of water.

"What about your parents, your brother's?"

"I didn't want them to know, and if they do, they never said anything."

"That's…." Harry lost the word. They were silent again. "what about…. Hermione or Ron." Ginny started to giggle. "They…Hermione isn't exactly someone you bare your soul to, and Ron had his own issues, he didn't need to deal with his emotionally fucked sister."

"Ginny, he's your brother, he cares about you."

"I know that, it's just…he felt guilty about that whole year, and I didn't want to make it worse." Harry let out a breath he had apparently been holding.

"And me?"

"What about you?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because your nightmares were bothering you, why load mine onto your plate." Harry's eyes grew wide.

"What?"

"You mumble in your sleep."

"What do you hear?"

"Sometimes you Cedric's name, you tell him to run. Sometimes you say I'm coming mom. It varies."

"How long have you known?"

"Almost always, Ron used to tell me about it. I didn't realize it was that bad though, until we started sleeping together. The first night was quite a surprise."

"Why?"

"Imagine waking up to someone who is covered in sweat, and he keeps screaming a dead man's name."

"I screamed?"

"Well, not exactly. But you were quite loud." They went silent again. Ginny drank from her water, Harry fidgeted.

"I never wanted you to see that."

"Well, that is just impractical. Neither of us seem to be able to keep out mouths shut at night." Ginny said dryly, sipping more water. "I think we're both up the wall by this point."

"I guess so."

"So what do we do about it?" Harry scratched his head. "We have a child now, and we need to be there, completely sane."

"Maybe we can get some help, become somewhat sane and then make up a whole sane person?"

"Ha ha, be serious."

"I was, about the help that is."

"What help? Who could help us."

"In the muggle world, we have these people called councilors," Harry explained. "They're healers that help you with your, I guess psychological problems."

"What's psychological, like what's in your head?"

"Sort of yeah,"

"How do they heal your head?" Harry paused, then shrugged.

"I'm not sure how."

"Then I guess we will find out."

It took them two weeks to find someone to talk to, and it was a muggle doctor named Jessica Lin, who worked in London. This doctor was an interesting person, because she was married to a witch. Specifically, a witch who worked at the ministry. Harry knew Dr. Lin's wife from the Department of Muggle Relations office, a new office that had been opened in recent years, thanks to Hermione's efforts.

They didn't tell anyone what they were doing, not even Mrs. Weasley, who would watch James during their appointment. She just thought they were going on a date. When they did find Dr. Lin, they had agreed on a time and made their plans. Even though Dr. Lin was a muggle, she was well versed in the wizarding world, being married to a witch. Tuesday rolled around, they dropped James off at the Burrow, and apparated to London. Their appointment was at two, and they were two hours early, so they had lunch, walked around the shops until it was about time to go to Lin's office.

"You ready for this?" They looked up at the tall building, with several business' occupying it.

"As much as can be expected."

It had been three months since they started counseling, and the Potter's were finally starting to come to terms on a lot of things. Ginny had confessed a lot of things in that doctor's office, some things she never thought she was going to tell anyone. Harry told her everything about the Dursley's, his issues with death and how much he wanted to be with his parents and Sirius. Ginny confessed about her nightmares and issues with trusting people, even her own family.

They both confessed that the prospect of raising James was terrifying. Not only did they not know what to do, but they thought they were going to really ruin James as a person. They thought they were going to project all of their problems onto their son and he was going to be one screwed individual.

They were both relieved when they heard this from each other.

Now that they were starting to get their secrets out in the open, they were both starting to become happy now. Harry started to spend more time at home, helping with James more, and Ginny decided to look for work again. She couldn't go back to the Quidditch pitch for a while, she may never go back. Three weeks after counseling began, Ginny found a job at the Prophet, as a correspondent. Harry had impressed the Auror office so well, with his reforms and performance, that he was promoted to the head of the office. He is the youngest head of office over two hundred years, and he couldn't be happier. Ginny and Harry decided that they wanted to have another child, and sometime later, they found out they were pregnant again. Ginny and Harry celebrated were celebrating their anniversary, when Ginny started going into labor. Nine hours later, they had Albus. Harry managed to talk her into it, when he said they could call him Al.

All was starting to be well.


End file.
